Separation | |
---|---|
Directed by | Jack Bond |
Written by | Jane Arden |
Produced by | Jack Bond |
Starring | Jane Arden |
Cinematography | Aubrey Dewar David Muir |
Edited by | Michael Johns |
Music by | Stanley Myers |
Production company | Bond Films |
Release date | 25 March 1968 |
Running time | 93 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Separation is a 1968 British experimental drama film written by and starring Jane Arden and directed by Jack Bond. [1] In addition to Jane Arden, the film stars the British actors David de Keyser and Iain Quarrier.
The film concerns the inner life of a woman during a period of breakdown - marital and possibly mental. Her past and (possible?) future are revealed through a fragmented but brilliantly achieved and often humorous narrative, in which dreams and desires are as real as Swinging London, the film's setting. The film, predominantly shot in black and white, occasionally cuts to colour sequences.
The film was shot around London and at Caravel Studios and was completed at Twickenham Film Studios.
The film features on its soundtrack music by Stanley Myers, one song ("Salad Days") by the British rock group Procol Harum and instrumental music by Procol's original Hammond organist Matthew Fisher.
After its release, Separation was thought lost and was barely known for decades until its re-release.
The film was restored by the British Film Institute for DVD and Blu-ray Disc and re-released in the UK on 13 July 2009. Another edition of the DVD, with a different cover photo and music credits for Procol Harum on the front cover and for Stanley Myers, Procol Harum and Matthew Fisher on the back cover, was released in the US in March, 2010. Separation was released on DVD in the U.S. for the first time on 30 March 2010 by Microcinema.
Procol Harum were an English rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, in 1967. Their best-known recording is the 1967 hit single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", one of the few singles to have sold over 10 million copies. Although noted for their baroque and classical influence, Procol Harum's music is described as psychedelic rock and proto-prog with hints of the blues, R&B, and soul.
"A Whiter Shade of Pale" is a song by the English rock band Procol Harum that was issued as their debut record on 12 May 1967. The single reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart on 8 June and stayed there for six weeks. Without much promotion, it reached number 5 on the US Billboard Hot 100. One of the anthems of the 1967 Summer of Love, it is one of the most commercially successful singles in history, having sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. In the years since, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" has become an enduring classic, with more than 1,000 known cover versions by other artists.
Gary Brooker was an English singer and pianist, and the founder and lead singer of the rock band Procol Harum.
Procol Harum is the debut studio album by English rock band Procol Harum. It was released in September 1967 by record label Deram in the US, following their breakthrough and immensely popular single "A Whiter Shade of Pale". The track does not appear on the UK version of the album, but was included on the US issue. The UK version of the album was released in December 1967 by record label Regal Zonophone.
Wonderwall is a 1968 British psychedelic film directed by Joe Massot, starring Jack MacGowran, Jane Birkin, Irene Handl, Richard Wattis and Iain Quarrier, and featuring a cameo by Dutch collective the Fool, who were also set designers for the film.
Shine On Brightly is the second studio album by English rock band Procol Harum, released in 1968 by record labels Regal Zonophone and A&M.
Home is Procol Harum's fourth album, released in 1970. With the departure of organist Matthew Fisher and bassist David Knights, and the addition of bassist/organist Chris Copping to the remaining core roster of players, Procol Harum became, to all intents and purposes, the Paramounts again in all but name. The purpose of bringing in Copping was to return some of the R&B sound to the band that they had had with their previous incarnation.
A Salty Dog is the third studio album by English rock band Procol Harum, released in 1969 by record labels Regal Zonophone and A&M.
The Well's on Fire is the eleventh studio album by Procol Harum, released in 2003. The album was Matthew Fisher's last studio album with the band. It was also their last studio album to feature lyrics from Keith Reid.
Matthew Charles Fisher is an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his longtime association with the rock band Procol Harum, which included playing the Hammond organ on the 1967 single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", for which he subsequently won a songwriting credit. In his later life he became a computer programmer, having qualified from Cambridge University.
Barrie James Wilson was an English rock drummer. He was best known as a member of Procol Harum for the majority of their original career from 1967 to 1977.
David de Keyser was an English actor and narrator.
"Homburg" is a song by the English rock band Procol Harum, released as the follow-up single to their initial 1967 hit "A Whiter Shade of Pale". Written by pianist Gary Brooker and lyricist Keith Reid, "Homburg" reached number 6 on the UK Singles Chart, number 15 in Canada, and number 34 in the United States. It went to number one in several countries, including the Netherlands. An Italian cover reached number one in the Italian Hit Parade Singles Chart on December 16, 1967, and remained there for 10 weeks.
"Conquistador" is a song by the English rock band Procol Harum. Written by Gary Brooker and Keith Reid, it originally appeared on the band's 1967 self-titled debut album. It was later released as a single from the band's 1972 live album Procol Harum Live: In Concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. It is one of the band's most famous and popular songs and their third Top 40 hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 16.
Jane Arden was a British film director, actress, singer/songwriter and poet, who gained note in the 1950s. Born in Pontypool, Monmouthshire, she studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She started acting in the late 1940s and writing for stage and television in the 1950s. In the 1960s, she joined movements for feminism and anti-psychiatry. She wrote a screenplay for the film Separation (1967). In the late 1960s and 1970s, she wrote for experimental theatre, adapting one work as a self-directed film, The Other Side of the Underneath (1972). In 1978 she published a poetry book. Arden committed suicide in 1982. In 2009, her feature films Separation (1967), The Other Side of the Underneath (1972) and Anti-Clock (1979) were restored by the British Film Institute and released on DVD and Blu-ray. Her literary works are out of print.
The Other Side of the Underneath is a 1972 British experimental psychological drama film written and directed by Jane Arden and starring Sheila Allen, Liz Danciger, Penny Slinger, Ann Lynn, and Suzanka Fraey. Other members of the Holocaust Theatre Company appear in the film. Jane Arden herself also appears in the film.
Anti-Clock is a 1979 British experimental science-fiction drama film written and directed by Jane Arden and co-directed by Jack Bond. The film, which stars Arden's son Sebastian Saville, was shot on film and video in colour with black and white sequences.
Jack Bond is a British film producer and director. He is best known for his work for The South Bank Show and his creative partnership with the British writer, actor and director Jane Arden (1927–1982) between 1965 and 1979.
In Concert with the Danish National Concert Orchestra and Choir, by Procol Harum, is a live album released 2009. It was recorded in Ledreborg Castle in Denmark.
"A Salty Dog" is a song by the English rock band Procol Harum. Written by Gary Brooker and Keith Reid, it was released as the lead single off the band's 1969 album A Salty Dog. It was also included on the 1972 album Procol Harum Live: In Concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.